Application Process of Certificate of Rehabilitation

First of all, it should be decided whether you correspond to the Certificate of Rehabilitation criteria. Afterward, we file a petition to the California Superior Court. The petition includes all relevant documents such as the application forms and letter of characteristic.

After the expiration of the minimum period of rehabilitation applicable to him or her (and, in the case of persons released upon parole or probation, after the termination of parole or probation), each person who has complied with the requirements of Section 4852.05 may file in the superior court of the county in which he or she then resides a petition for ascertainment and declaration of the fact of his or her rehabilitation and for a certificate of rehabilitation under California Penal Code provisions. No petition can be filed until and unless the petitioner has continuously resided in this state, after leaving prison, for a period of not less than five years immediately preceding the date of filing the petition.[1]

The Court sets the date of hearing. We should try to find the most favorable evidence in order to get your Certificate of Rehabilitation.

During the proceedings upon the petition, the petitioner may be represented by attorney of his own selection, if he has no such attorney he can be represented by the public defender. No filing fee nor court fees of any kind will be required of a petitioner in proceedings for getting a Certificate of Rehabilitation. The court in which the petition is filed may require such testimony as it deems necessary.
In general, the proceeding takes up to 6 months and the judge often require the presence of the petitioner at the hearings.

The certified copy of a certificate of rehabilitation transmitted to the Governor will constitute an application for a full pardon upon receipt of which the Governor may, without any further investigation, issue a pardon to the person. Thus, a Certificate of Rehabilitation becomes an automatic application for a Governor’s pardon.

The Margarian Law Firm aggressively protects the rights of criminal defendants in California. We are a client-centered professional expungement law firm, not a mass-market expungement mill. When our law firm accepts your California criminal case, you can put your mind at ease. We handle every aspect of your case, from the very start through the very last court hearing, all for a flat fee agreed upon before we begin.

You may file your request online, by telephone or by mail. 818-553-1000